


Coffees and Keychains

by idkalysia



Series: works ash may or may not finish [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Autistic Spencer Reid, Basically Morgan doesn't remember him, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Closeted Character, Coffee Shops, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Spence remembers but not specifically Morgan, so he doesn't ~connect the dots~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23852176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idkalysia/pseuds/idkalysia
Summary: Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid were best friends as children. They did everything together, until everything changed for both of them. 15 years later, the two work together without even knowing it or caring. They're civil, as coworkers are. Until one day, Derek stumbles upon a coffee shop that Spencer loves. What can change with coffees and keychains?
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Series: works ash may or may not finish [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076579
Comments: 36
Kudos: 141





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hey there, so : spencer is spencer james reid. he goes by james. his dad calls him spencer and his mom knows him as spencer, but everyone else knows him as james (until college). this is IMPORTANT later on so just keep that in mind. also, age difference b/w them is less than canon.
> 
> also uploaded to fanfiction.net under lovesfake

William Reid had decided long ago that this was his favorite weather and his favorite time to be outside. It was just the right amount of cold, with a slight chill, but sunlight beaming over the people of the city. As he walked with his child on the streets of Chicago, he couldn’t help but wonder how the people around him felt about the weather. Did they want to be outside all day as well?

It was a Wednesday, that day. He and Hank Morgan, who had been one of his closest friends for a few years, had decided the middle of the week would be a nice time for their children to play together in the park near their homes. 

Desiree was Hank’s youngest and the same age as his little boy. Spencer James. His pride and joy. His talents were undeniable, and William loved him so much, but he was just so different than all the other kids. William tried desperately to make his child comfortable while also attempting to set up playdates so he could be around other kids, but something always happened that caused those dates to go awry. Though the children were only five, Spence being uncomfortable with people around him was obvious, and this turned off many of the young children from his friendship. William wanted Spencer to have friends, but he didn’t really know how to go about it. He just wanted his child to be happy. 

William recalled fondly he and Diana meeting Hank and Fran at Lamaze classes five years earlier. Both couples held the same humor, and joked that their children would get married someday, sure that they would get along. 

As he entered the gates in front of Lincoln Park holding his child’s hand, William realized that Spencer leaned closer and closer to his father the farther into the park they got. It was as if he knew they would be around a lot of people soon. William stopped and kneeled in front of his child to say, “James, are you nervous?”. When his boy nodded he continued, “If you feel uncomfortable at any time, will you tell me?” He nodded again, and in an attempt to make sure Spencer didn’t retreat into his own head, he picked him up and carried him to the picnic area he and Hank were going to meet at.

“Will, over here!” The older man waved his friend over, smiling at the sight of William carrying his child. Hank had his two youngest children with him, and their plan was to grill some burgers and let the kids run around the playground. Derek, Hank’s 9 year old, looked like he clearly didn’t want to be there, and kept throwing his baseball up into the air to catch with his mitt.

“Hey Hank, thank you so much for doing this.” William smiled at his friend as he turned his attention from the children.“James, can you say hi to Mr. Morgan?” His son nuzzled his face into his father’s shoulder, shaking his head. “Don’t be like that, please?” Spencer shook his head again, stubbornly. 

William shook his head slightly and put Spencer down. He shook his head as his child reached up and closed and opened his fists, asking to be picked up again. “I’m sorry about that, Hank. He’s been in a mood all day.” The five year old crossed his arms across his chest and stood stiffly next to his father, clearly agitated.“I thought this would get him out of it.” Hank chuckled, and called his own kids over. 

William whispered to his friend “By the way, Hank, could you call Spencer ‘James’? Or at least introduce him like that to your kids, he’s going through this phase, and he doesn’t like his name, I don’t even know where he gets it from-”

“Oh yeah, of course, I understand completely. It’ll be nice for the kids to get to know each other. It’s been years, Will, we should’ve introduced them sooner! “Derek, Desiree, this is James. His daddy is my friend so hopefully you guys can be friends too! How would you guys like that?”

Derek looked annoyed. He looked over at his father before turning his attention over to Spencer, nodding towards him. Desiree, on the other hand, smiled at the boy and waved. She seemed more welcoming, in contrast to her brother. Derek walked away and towards the wall on the other side of the playground to throw his baseball around, bouncing it off the walls.

“It’s been too long, for sure, Hank. Spencer definitely needs friends. To be honest, I’m scared for him to start school again this year. Diana had to pull him out of preschool because of issues with other kids.” William patted his child’s shoulder. “Hey, kiddo, why don’t you and Desiree go play in the sandbox over there?” 

Spencer looked up at his father, apprehensive. His eyes were wide and his long hair fell over them, curling slightly at the ends. 

“I heard from Mr. Morgan that she loves sandcastles. You love sandcastles too, don’t you buddy? Perhaps the two of you could build one together.”

Spencer smiled at that and his nerves seemed to fade somewhat. He walked over to Hank’s daughter, and apparently, initiated conversation. The two 5 year olds walked over to the sandbox together and began to play in the sand, scooping it up in their hands.

William and Hank continued their conversation and began preparing the meat for the burgers. They strayed from topics with too much weight, citing how nice the weather was that day, and jokingly hoping the Cubs would do better that season. Hank knew the reason Diana hadn’t come with them, why Diana couldn’t bring Spencer over to the Morgan household on her own. It was why it had taken so long for the kids to meet. However, it wasn’t long before the two men heard crying from the playground, and Hank’s little girl ran towards her father. 

“Baby, what’s wrong? Aren’t you having fun with James?” Hank leaned down and turned his head slightly as his daughter continued trembling. 

“Daddy, I don’t like him.” She continued, softer, as if scared for others to hear her. “He’s _weird_ and he scared me. He wouldn’t be quiet when I told him to be! And he kept telling me weird things that I didn’t want to know about and that I didn’t ask him about.”

William looked over at his little boy. He had been left all alone by Desiree, and looked a bit sad. He jogged slowly toward Spencer, faintly hearing Hank scolding his daughter, saying “Now, baby, that isn’t very nice to say, is it? I-”

To William’s surprise, Derek reached Spencer before he did. The nine year old, who looked before like he had no intention to even try to be friends with his son, called him over to play with him instead. William’s heart felt warm as he watched his nervous son throw the baseball around with the older boy. He walked back towards Hank, who was still talking to Desiree about being nice.

“Hey, Hank, it’s okay.” He kneeled in front of Hank’s daughter, who was still sniffling. “Look over there.”

The two children were grinning joyfully at each other as they threw the baseball back and forth. Spencer dropped the ball about 10 times, but the other boy would just laugh. In fact, Derek’s expression was a stark contrast to the one he held when William had first seen him, and he secretly hoped that the children would continue to get along for the time they spent together.

“Well, would you look at that!” said Hank. “I always knew our boys would get along, Will.”

While Hank finally calmed his daughter down, William continued cooking the burgers for his friend, himself and the children. As he looked over at the little group of people around him, he couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to have people like them in his life.

\----

It was 6 months later when William got the offer. He’d been very successful recently, winning most, if not all, of his cases. A law firm in Vegas promised to double his salary, give him a good healthcare plan, and show him around town if he moved within the month. They cited that he had a ‘specific skillset that they would love to have in their firm’.

He’d been avoiding telling Diana, but he knew it was something he could never refuse. Their loss of income on her end due to her debilitating headaches made it difficult to keep the lifestyle they were used to, and he knew she was too prideful to ever ask her parents for help. He needed to do this for her, but he also knew Chicago was her home. 

William shook his head as he looked over the paper one more time. He’d been dreading it, but this was what was best for his family. He stood up to go over to his wife and tell her the news, when he heard a yell. William looked out the window as he put his papers in order.

Derek and Spencer were playing outside. The older boy had taken it upon himself to teach his friend basketball, and Spencer was not having it. He would shake his head at every little trick and look longingly at the chess set on the windowsill of his bedroom when he thought Der wouldn’t notice.

“C’mon James, just try! Can you _stop_ looking at your chess set like it’s the prettiest thing in the world and play basketball with me, I swear, you’re like 30.” Spencer rolled his eyes and looked over at his friend.

“Actually, I’m not-” Derek cut him off and bounced the ball through his legs as Spencer reached for it. 

“Yes, I know you’re not actually thirty. It’s like an expression or something. I mean you’re an old man, you act like one anyway. Who plays chess?”

“I play chess and-”

“Still an expression. Can we just play basketball please?” Derek said as he shot the basketball towards the hoop, making it in on his first try. 

Derek ran across the court, whooping. Spencer laughed, though he really didn’t understand the devotion his friend had to games that required physical strength, he liked watching him run around after he succeeded at them. It was fun to yell with him, too. 

William sighed as he looked outside at his son and his friend. Though Diana was going to be the first person he told about the move, he didn’t know how he was even going to break it to his son. He finally had a friend, and William was taking that away from him. 

He would understand. 

At least, he hoped he would. Spencer was a smart boy, and William knew he would realize that he was only doing what he was doing to help their family. 

\----

Two days before the move, William still hadn’t told his son. Diana pushed him to, but he couldn’t. Instead, he’d told him they were putting away his stuff so that it could go into storage while organizing his clothes and essentials behind his back while he was outside. Spencer tended to prefer certain clothing styles, so he hadn't noticed when the extras had started to go missing. It was summer and the boys had been hanging out everyday, Hank bringing his son over at 10 am, and Will taking him back at 7 (Spencer would _beg_ his father to go in the car with him as he took Derek home so they could talk for the most amount of time, giving his father puppy dog eyes and pouting until he yielded).

William had already called the school in Vegas to enroll Spencer, even enrolling him as James to indulge him and lessen the blow. 

That day, Spencer asked his father if he and Derek could go to this arcade that had recently opened in town. It was a penny arcade, and it was the new big thing for the young people, apparently. 

He wasn’t going to let him go.

It was dangerous. For them to be by themselves around people they didn’t know. 

“Please, dad, Derek says it’s so fun. He says he’ll teach me to play the games.” 

Spencer can’t be around all those people. He’ll get nervous, even with Derek with him. The lights, the noises. It’d be too much for him.

“C’mon Mr. Reid, just for an hour or two? It's _so_ fun!”

The next thing he knew, he was driving the two young boys to the arcade. They sat in the backseats smiling and laughing with one another, and William’s heart broke at having to pull them apart. He decided then that he would tell them, at that moment. Like ripping off a bandaid, he called out to his son. 

“Hey James?” He said softly as they made a right turn and passed a pharmacy. “We’re moving.”

Just like that. 

If William was happy about anything in that moment, it was that he couldn't see their little faces, dropping into frowns. Tearfully, his son replied, “M-moving?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?”

There was a pause as William composed himself and replied, “Las Vegas, son. Nevada.”

The silence was unbearable. He couldn’t see his son, but he knew he was crying. It took another five minutes to reach the arcade, and they couldn’t have gone slower. 

In the quietest voice, William heard “I don’t want you to _go_.”

The regret he felt was something he would never forget.

Once they reached the arcade, William turned around to look at the two boys in his car. Spencer was looking out the window, his arms crossed. It was as if he could feel his father’s stare and refused to look back. “James? Your money, son.” The man placed 2 dollars in pennies in a little bag onto the seat next to his son, and the boy grabbed it without even looking. 

William unlocked his door, sighing. He got out of the car and urged the kids to do the same. Before he could say anything, his son walked towards the door, leaving his father waiting by the car. Derek looked almost apologetic, but surprisingly, angry at the same time. He nodded towards William and followed his friend inside, without a word.

The man opened the door and sat down. His head hit the steering wheel as he thought about what had just happened. 

William should’ve known he was going to get that kind of reaction, but it threw him off anyway. He never expected his son to treat him that way, but he decided to leave it.

He would understand, one day. 

He would.

\----

The move was quieter than William expected. The family said goodbye to his in-laws and their friends, packed their belongings into the van, and were gone. The house was empty, other than the furniture. 

It was like no one had ever been there at all. 

Spencer took a while to acclimate, but eventually, he did. He entered high school in Vegas, and though William was scared for him, he knew he’d do well. He was smart.

And, life went on. They found new friends, a new park for Spencer to play at with chess boards, new restaurants to enjoy. Spencer even made new friends, though none of them came close to Derek. William was never one for gambling, but he would indulge himself from time to time. The family tried their hardest to make Vegas their home.

It was 3 months later that William got a call. Hank Morgan was dead. 

He didn’t know what to do. He gave his condolences to Fran over the phone. 

But he didn’t tell Diana, or Spencer. His family had finally accepted Vegas as their home, he didn’t want a reminder of their life back in Chicago. He knew it was selfish, and he sent Fran some money for the funeral with a card, but that was it. One of his closest friends was gone and he didn’t even go to the funeral. He felt for Hank’s children. 

And that was that. His son had no clue his best friend in Chicago was mourning not only the loss of his friend but the loss of his father. They continued their lives in Vegas.

His family would understand. 

Everything would be fine.

Right?


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! sorry for the wait, your stupid writer friend (me) has been finishing up her junior year of high school. y'all better thank cath for pushing me literally all the time to continue.

“Hey, kid!” Spencer Reid wasn’t entirely sure that he’d heard that correctly, or if it was his imagination. The jet was still roaring behind his team as they walked towards their office after a particularly hard case. Agent Jason Gideon had _finally_ let Spencer go with them on an official case, though he was not yet cleared for the field, and he let him help from the police station. Spencer was quite used to staying behind, being designated to look over old case files and receiving calls to consult on current BAU cases. It was boring at times, staying in his seat while the rest of the group went out and found clues, but he was just glad to be out of the office for once.

He’d only been with the team a few months, but he still didn’t feel very valuable to the team. He knew facts, yes, but he felt as though knowing so much didn’t really matter if he couldn’t put those skills to use. He’d learned so much in his life, and he just wanted to spread this knowledge in a way that could help others, but that stupid field test was blocking him from achieving that. 

Spencer felt like an outcast in many other ways as well. Though he’d gone to the Academy just as any other FBI agent would, his intellectual ability made it so many, if not all, physical requirements were waived for him. At least, that’s how Agent Gideon put it. In many ways, Reid was thankful for the older agent and all he’d done for him, but this was too much. He was only a few months into his first _real_ job, a job he’d wanted for the better part of 15 years and he already felt unprepared. His classmates from the academy hated him for not having to “work as hard”, and his team was probably already disappointed in him because they expected more from him. 

His only goal was to prove that he was worthy to be where he was. Everyday while his team went out and solved cases and lessened crime, he was in the bullpen, by himself. Spencer’s greatest hurdle was that field test. He needed to clear it, and every time he failed, his team shook their heads at him and his self esteem lowered. Not that it was very high in the first place. Agent Gideon had given him the job he’d dreamed of since childhood, there was no way he was messing it up now. 

Those were the moments Spencer Reid wished Agent Gideon hadn’t waived his physical examinations at all. When his team looked disappointed in him. He just wanted them to accept him as one of their own, but it felt like he would never get there. 

The most frustrating part of it all is that he didn’t really have a reason to be behind. He had no excuse. Even their communications liaison, Agent Jennifer Jareau, was field ready and went out with the team all the time. He closed his fists and sighed as he thought of how the women on his team were smaller, yet stronger than he’d ever be. 

“Kid!” This time it was clearer, and much closer to him. Spencer shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts, and turned around to see Derek Morgan jogging towards him. He winced as he looked behind the older man and saw how far ahead he had gotten from the rest of the team, likely not giving the greatest impression that he wanted to be around them. He cursed himself as he realized his habits had not changed and he was speeding around again. 

“I’m not a kid, Agent Morgan. I’m 24 years old.” He slowed his pace and let the other man catch up to him and then continued on as they talked, not looking at the other man as he mentally frowned over the nickname he had chosen. 

“Yeah, yeah. You’re young for the FBI, therefore, ‘kid’.” Morgan patted his shoulder as they continued down the runway towards the Quantico offices. “So, _Doctor_ Reid,” Morgan said teasingly, “How was your first case outside the pen? I thought I heard that you weren’t allowed in the field yet?”

Reid clenched his jaw as he smoothed down his clothes, moving the strap of his messenger bag around his shoulder. “I’m not. Not officially, but Agent Gideon let me come and do my work in the police station so _technically_ I wasn’t in the field. No rules were broken, Agent Morgan.” He fiddled with a small keychain on his bag nervously, not being able to help his defensive sounding words.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Reid. It’s fun having you come along.” He smiled at the younger agent warmly, hoping to make him more comfortable. “Also, kid?” Agent Morgan placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder softly. “You don’t have to call us all ‘Agent’, you know. You’re part of this team now, just call us by our names.” Reid paused and looked his superior in the eyes, the ghost of a smile passing over his lips. 

“Thank you, Agent Morgan.” Reid’s face was pink as he turned away and opened the door to the offices, keeping his eyes slightly averted away from Morgan’s gaze.

Morgan sighed as the younger man hurried up the stairs towards the elevator, leaving him at the entrance. He had no idea how to get him to open up towards the team, but he knew he had to. He hoped it would happen soon. 

\---

It was a happy day at the BAU offices. An unusually happy day. The team was sitting at their desks, most of their paperwork done and the day was only beginning. It was pretty normal for this to happen, especially when the team hadn’t had a case in several days. Reid thought that his going on the previous case had gone pretty well, as far as his (extremely) limited experience on the field went.

 _“Hopefully, Agent Gideon allows me to join the team on the next one as well.”_ Reid thought as he looked over the forms he needed to fill out to take his field test again. He was especially sore after practicing for days on end on how he was going to go through that obstacle course. The bane of his existence, a combination of knowing how to control your gun and avoiding obstacles. Reid was never one to avoid a puzzle, but he felt like he couldn’t put the pieces together. 

At least it wasn’t for a lack of trying, that caused Reid to fail the test. He really did try, but his coordination with the obstacle course was similar to what it’d be like if a flailing octopus attempted to walk around on land. He also knew pretty much everything there was to know about how to work the FBI issued firearms- he knew how to load them perfectly, knew how to clean them and take care of them. However, shooting them and getting it to hit the actual target where he wanted to was a different story. 

It wasn’t like he’d grown up with shooting guns or anything. Reid had never even gone hunting before. Having guns would have been an absolute disaster in his household, and that was putting it plainly. 

Agent Jareau, the friendly blonde, had taken it upon herself to pull Spencer into everything. Out of everybody else on the team, she was probably the one that Reid talked to the most- not including his superiors. When Agent Morgan called the team over to hang out in the roundtable room, JJ grabbed his arm as she walked by his desk, pulling him up and laughing as he stumbled comically. 

“JJ!” Spencer protested as he rubbed his hands over his shirt, trying to smooth out any wrinkles that had formed. “ _What_ do you think you’re doing?” He cocked his head slightly at Jennifer, questioning why she had decided to ‘take him under her wing’ in the first place. “Can’t I just stay at my desk?” 

Reid wasn’t generally included in the team meetings, since he hadn’t been cleared for the field yet. It at least spared him the embarrassment of having to sit through the “wheels up” phrase being said, and not leaving with the rest of the team whenever they were called away for a case. 

“C’mon, Spence, come hang with the team for once!” She grabbed his hand and grinned at him, before pulling him towards the room, not taking no for an answer. The blood rushed up to Reid’s face as the attractive woman took her hand in his, and he was pretending to be unsure why. “There’s not much else to do right now, let’s just talk. Let the team get to know you.” 

Spencer didn’t really know how he felt about Jennifer Jareau. She was very friendly towards him, but also very touchy, and it kind of made him uncomfortable. Of course, he would never tell JJ that because he wanted her to like him, but ever since she’d started hanging around him so much, hand sanitizer had become his best friend. Nice, regularly scented sanitizer. Not the stuff from shops like Bath and Body Works which made him want to wince with how strongly scented it was. It wasn’t anything to do with Jennifer herself, though. 

It was a strange experience to have a _friend_ on the team. At least, that’s what Spencer thought Jennifer was trying to be. Inclusion into things was nice, but anytime he got invited out, he vehemently refused to go, citing stomach issues or tiredness. Even though Spencer didn’t like actually going out with the team to bars and the like (the noise and proximity to other people made him nervous), he still liked that he’d been _thought of_ and included in an invite anyways.

The two youngest agents entered the room, most of the team already inside and talking about the lack of cases recently. 

“It’s just strange, you know? Did the serial killers take a break or something- what happened to crime never stopping? No rest for the wicked?” said Agent Gordon, leaning slightly on the table behind her. She smiled as the two youngest agents entered the room and waved at them. “I mean, it’s better for them to be that way, I guess.”

Spencer walked across the room and sat awkwardly at one of the empty chairs around the roundtable. He fiddled with his hands and eventually crossed them, putting his chin on his thumbs and listening into the conversation. 

“I doubt it.” JJ said as she moved next to Agent Morgan, who looked around the room and grinned. “We’ll get something today, I can feel it.”

“You know that last case, the one in New Hampshire? I was practically fuming this morning because I found out they’d named him. I mean, didn’t we specifically tell them _not_ to do that? It irks me that the small towns are always the ones that don’t listen to us.” Agent Gordon sighed and shook her head.

“Well, I’m just glad it’s over.” Morgan clapped his hands and stood up from where he was sitting, moving over to the seat directly in front of Reid. “So kid, how’re your parents?”

Spencer gaped at the other man, slowly lifting his head up in confusion and blinking at the agent in front of him. 

“Uhhhhh.” He picked at his cuticles and looked down towards his feet before pushing back the hair that had fallen into his eyes. “They are good?” Well, they probably were. Reid didn’t actually know how his father was doing- that ship had sailed a long time ago. His mother, however, was a different story. Of course, he wasn’t going to say any of that stuff to Morgan. Morgan probably just asked out of courtesy.

The older man pursed his lips and turned his attention towards Reid’s twiddling fingers. “You do that a lot? Move your hands or move around while you sit?”

Spencer suddenly felt self conscious and sat up straight, putting his hands on his lap. He was almost tempted to sit on his hands. “Um. I think I do. It’s just a habit of mine. Why do you ask about my parents, anyway?”

“It’s just a simple question, pretty boy. An icebreaker. Most people have parents. You do have parents, right? Oh god, it would be super insensitive if you didn’t, sorry.”

“No, no, I do and they’re fine. I called my mom yesterday and-”

Suddenly, Agents Gideon and Hotchner sped into the room, files in hand. Agent Aaron Hotchner walked with his head held high and his shoulders straight, while Agent Jason Gideon slouched somewhat, walking slightly slower than the younger man he came in with. Reid considered the duality of the two, both great leaders for different reasons, a team of sorts. 

“Dr. Reid, come here.” Gideon said as he stood in front of the whiteboard at the head of the room. The older man waved him over, looking pensive but really, there wasn’t a time Agent Gideon looked anything but. Spencer stood quickly and jogged towards his mentor, confused.

Agent Gordon was craning her head, trying to see the files as she said “Gideon, do we have another case?” She grinned excitedly, seeming to relish the idea that they might be leaving the office for the first time in too long. 

“No, Gordon. The only news is that Michealson quit.”

“The tech guy? No, but I liked him!” JJ frowned and put her hands in her pockets. She liked to make friends with most of the team members, it seemed. Reid liked that about her.

"It doesn’t matter anyway, because we have a way to replace him right here.” He put the files down and put his hand on Reid’s shoulder. “And I’m sending Dr. Reid, Morgan, and Hotch to go and get her.”

Reid let his jaw drop as he listened to Agent Gideon explain the hacker they had caught and all the sites she’d brought down. The leader had chosen _him_ to go and receive her, The Black Queen, and she was going to work with them. Reid wondered how that would work, a criminal working for the FBI, but he’d learned not to question those kinds of things. 

He felt a hand wave in front of his eyes and snapped out of his thoughts. “You got your go bag ready, pretty boy?” Agent Morgan teased. _“That nickname is going to stick, isn’t it?”_ He thought as he blinked at the agent in front of him. 

Spencer nodded and the team began to disperse out of the room, the three men who’d been assigned the job joining up at the front of the room to discuss. Agent Hotchner informed them that the jet would be leaving in thirty minutes and was ready for them to board, so the group left the bullpen together, the youngest purposely lagging behind as though not to disturb his superiors. He wanted to prove he belonged, but he didn’t particularly know how. On the plane, he let the other two men discuss their plan to convince the nefarious hacker queen to join their team while Reid pretended to be asleep. It was pretty good, their plan, because Reid surmised that any rational individual would pick a well paid job at the FBI over jail time. 

Their mission was, of course, a success. 

But they didn’t bring home The Black Queen. They brought Penelope Garcia, an eccentric individual who’s hacker name happened to be that. Garcia was unlike anyone Reid had ever met before, and he loved that about her. She was terrifying and not terrifying in the slightest at the same time, but she’d connected with Spencer in a way that only Gideon had really been able to accomplish before her. The first time she’d come in to work, she’d said “We can be newbies together, Spence!” and while Reid had no idea how she had remembered his name let alone the fact that he was new, he appreciated having someone who could relate to him in that way. 

\---

Reid sighed, relishing the sound of the bell attached to the door of his favorite coffee shop/breakfast bar/diner ringing, and entered the small establishment. He’d discovered the mom and pop in his first week of living in Quantico, and now he came almost everyday. It was quiet and relatively peaceful, with elevator-type music playing in the background, and one of Spence’s favorite places to come and read or study for his newest topic of interest, currently being a course on entomology at Georgetown that the professor had agreed to let him look over in 2 weeks rather than the 4 months the course usually lasted. 

He hadn’t been a fan of coffee until he had started working for the FBI, but boy, was Spencer a fan now. He sat down on one of the stools at the bar and opened the textbook, turning page by page as he took in the information he yearned for. 

Sometimes, Reid stopped by the coffee shop to pick up some pastries or some food to bring for lunch. The food was relatively decent for a coffee shop, but he didn’t want to make a habit out of eating their muffins. The muffins were way too good, and were bad for him if he wanted to pass the field test. 

A mug was placed in front of him and he looked up, smiling at the waitress and silently thanking her. The employees knew Reid as a quiet man in clothing that looked fancy, clothing he was careful to keep clean, one who came, read, and drank 2 cups of coffee, a different flavor every time, before paying what he owed and a pretty good tip. Needless to say, they loved him, and though he would’ve been a fairly easy customer to take advantage of, he was so wholesome that the staff just couldn’t. The women always smiled at the man, but he never seemed to notice. Sometimes, if the baristas were lucky, they would have a small conversation with the young man, and brag to their coworkers that the sweet man had talked to them. 

Spencer heard shuffling beside him and felt a shift in the emptiness of the space before. “Is that a good read?” 

He turned to look at who was speaking to him, cocking his head slightly as he questioned why they were there in the first place. It was a woman, one he was sure he had never seen before. He was curious as to why she was speaking to _him_ , as he knew he would’ve remembered her if they’d ever met before and because they hadn’t, he was definitely a stranger to her. 

“Hello?” The woman said as Spencer stared at her, mouth slightly open. He smiled crookedly at her before realizing he had forgotten to reply. 

“Oh!” He pushed his glasses up and closed his book. “Yes, I suppose it is. It’s about etymology and the science of insects and how they affect the world! Did you know that etymologists believe there to be between six and ten million species of insects?”

“Oh, I-”

“And that a bee’s wings beat at an average of about 190 times per second?” The man suddenly stopped talking as the woman began to look disinterested. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck awkwardly, and apologized under his breath.

“No worries, cutie. I really just wanted an excuse to talk to you.” She winked at him and Spencer’s eyes widened in shock. He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, unsure of what to do. His messenger bag was still draped over his shoulder and he adjusted the strap, looking down and mumbling. He wasn’t sure why, but though this woman was attractive and seemed nice to her own merit, all he wanted was for her to go away. 

The bell on the door rang and a man entered. Agent Derek Morgan walked into the shop, and looked around, rubbed his palms together, breathing into them. It was March, yet it was freezing and Derek was used to _Chicago_ weather. He wasn’t sure why the cold was getting to him that day. He turned his head towards the bar, seeing a greatly uncomfortable man and a woman hanging over him. He shook his head and walked towards the cash register, planning on ordering a chocolate muffin and a straight black coffee, the only way to drink it, in his opinion. 

After paying his bill, Derek grabbed his cup and the bag his muffin was in before going to turn away and leave. Before he did, however, he glanced over at the man speaking to the beautiful woman, and did a double take, realizing that the uncomfortable man was actually the BAU’s own _Dr. Reid_. The other man looked up from the woman in front of him, and the two locked eyes for a moment. 

He was begging to be saved from the situation, Derek surmised.

Well, it couldn’t hurt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it! kudos, comments, and constructive criticisms are all appreciated!


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> coffee shop interactions yep yep <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, been going thorough some Quarantine Rough Times (TM). college applications are just around the corner and this future senior is stressing the hell out <3, though perhaps i'll get chapter 4 up before another month passes !!
> 
> find me @ meiicrk on twitter !

Derek walked over to Spencer, who was obviously in panic mode as the beautiful young lady leaned on him seductively. It seemed as though the kid did _not_ have much experience in the art of flirting- or almost as if he didn’t even realize he was being flirted with, judging on how confused Spencer looked. Flirting just happened to be Morgan’s own area of expertise, if he did say so himself. 

One of the baristas who always seemed to be hanging around the shop cocked her head as she watched Derek stroll over to Spencer. She didn’t recognize the dark skinned man, but he seemed to recognize Spencer, seeing as his eyes immediately went to the young man. She raised one of her eyebrows and turned to whisper to her coworker about their favorite customer as she watched them for a few more moments, before turning away to finish making a drink.

Derek placed his hands on Spencer’s shoulders and the younger man looked up at him with wide eyes. Derek cleared his throat slightly before speaking, “Hey, what’re you doing here so early? I thought we agreed on 7?” Spencer barely refrained himself from instinctively jerking away from the touch, which probably would’ve resulted in him knocking his coffee over.

He looked like a deer in headlights as he tilted his head up to look at Derek, his heart rate picking up as their eyes met. Spencer supposed he had brought this upon himself in some sort of way, but once the other man actually arrived, he felt himself getting more and more nervous, and he couldn’t exactly place why. 

It took him a moment to realize that Morgan was actually trying to cover for him in some way- get him out of the situation. He was sure that he would remember if Morgan had actually asked him to meet up. 

“O-oh I mean, you-” Spencer pursed his lips as he tried to think of something to say. It wasn’t often he found himself without a response to something. “I guess I must’ve misheard you.” The two men locked eyes and stared, almost as if they were the only people in the room, if only for a moment.

The older man stared deep into Spencer’s eyes, and he could see the laugh in them. He hoped that wasn’t him making fun of him, but he also felt the challenge, and started right back at him.

“I guess you must have.”

The woman who was sitting next to Reid cleared her throat and smirked at the two. 

Spencer’s cheeks were aflame as he looked over at the man and he obviously wasn’t breaking the eye contact. Oh, how she wished she were the one who started the bet that would most definitely occur, but she hardly knew the guy. 

Spencer was the first to shake himself out of the daze he had been put in, and looked over at the woman. She seemed to be smiling at him, an unexpected reaction but a welcome one. He couldn’t help but to smile back weakly at her- but he probably looked pained.

“Well, Dr. Spencer Reid, thank you for the card. I appreciated our conversation but it _seems_ that you’re going to be very busy soon. I will call you, and that book really does look interesting.” The woman winked at him before strolling off, shoving Reid’s business card in her purse. 

Spencer sighed and fell back into his chair, relieved. The woman was quite nice and Spencer liked her, but her proximity to him and her hands on his forearm made him wildly uncomfortable, and he was glad Agent Morgan had come when he had. Though, he wasn’t exactly sure why his face felt so warm after their gazes left each other. 

The loud scraping of a chair made him jump up in his seat and he looked around for the noise, surprise filling him as he watched his teammate take the seat where the woman had been before him. The other man looked at Spencer expectantly. He felt his mouth go dry as he realized Agent Morgan expected them to converse, something that Spencer had been avoiding since he began his job at the BAU. 

He didn’t owe any of them anything. He wanted to feel accepted, of course, but there’s a huge difference between being accepted and becoming best friends with the people on his team. The young man tugged on his sleeve, his body beginning to shake. He wished others didn’t have this kind of impact on him, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous around the older man. 

“Hey, hey kid? Are you okay?” Morgan’s eyebrows pushed together as he steadied Reid by holding his shoulders. His face filled with confusion as the young man looked not only angry, but disappointed. Derek wondered if he’d done something wrong, trying to help the kid. Spencer was an enigma to him, difficult to figure out while happy. He couldn’t imagine how to fix it if he were upset. 

“I’m fine, Agent.” 

“You don’t look fine.”

“Well, I am.”

“Bullshit.”

Spencer’s lips quirked up in a smile. 

They could keep this up for hours. Morgan felt relieved that he hadn’t made the other man upset, because he had no idea how he could fix that one. He smiled back, hoping to warm up the atmosphere around them. 

“So, nice coffee shop here. You come here ofte-” 

Spencer cut him off, talking over him before he lost his nerve.“Agent Morgan, would you like to have a cup of coffee with me? Thank you, by the way, for saving me back there. I didn’t know how to tell her tha-” No, he couldn’t talk about that just yet. Not yet. He waited for the answer before he realized his hand was still over the other man’s mouth. Spencer could feel the smile against his palm, and pulled his hand away, rubbing it on the back of his neck and hoping the tips of his ears hadn’t turned red from the contact when the agent’s lips

“I would love to, pretty boy. I’ll teach you to flirt so you don’t need saving next time.” He winked at Spencer, then turned and called a waiter over. If he had looked at the young man for a second longer, he would’ve seen a small smile and a flushed face, a man searching for words. He didn’t understand the feeling that Derek Morgan gave him when he talked to him that way.

All he knew was that he _really_ wanted him to teach him to flirt.

* * *

Behind the counter, two baristas watched the men converse, and smiled knowingly. 

“I can’t believe we don’t get the doctor to ourselves.” A dark haired girl sighed as she looked longingly at Reid.

The young man next to her laughed quietly as his eyes scanned the two and he added ice to their drinks. “Oh, Devi, did you ever think we would?”

She glared at him before sticking out her tongue, but a small toothy smile escaped her. “Oh, but I hoped, Ben, I really did.”

He smiled at that, before saying: “How long do you give ‘em?”

“Oh, 6 months, at most.”

He looked at her with a curious expression she couldn’t quite figure out, his striking blue eyes soft. 

“Well _I_ think it’ll be years."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really enjoyed writing this one, but i kind of dislike it to be honest. i hope some of y'all recognize ben and devi from nhie. i couldn't resist adding a cameo at the end, never have i ever has become one of my comfort shows and once i imagined them in the roles i couldn't see anyone else in them, and that's on having no self control. please tell me what you think! i hope y'all liked it!!

**Author's Note:**

> thank u cath for being the best coauthor ever, i love you. please let us know what you think! i hope you all enjoyed! kudos, comments, everything is appreciated!
> 
> if you're looking for more things to read: i present to you
> 
> 1\. Strange Coincidences (Tinder AU in which both Morgan and Reid work at FBI headquarters in Quantico - and Garcia just so happens to be Reid's best friend. Fun, Coffee, and Mysterious Messages ensue) https://archiveofourown.org/works/23482558


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